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No. 615,23I. Patentadnov. '29, Issa.

-w. F. WILLIAMS.

' SUCIABLE BICYCLE.

(Appue'aeion med Feb. 15, 1867.,

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No. 6|5,23I. Patented Nov. 29, |898. W. F. WILLIAMS. SUCIABLE BICYCLE. (Application led Feb. 15, 1897.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 {No Model.)

nu. 615,231. Patenten Nb'v. 29, |898.

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(Application filed Peb. 15, 1897.)

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No. 615,231. l Patented Nov. 29,1898. w. F.' wlLLlAMs.

SOCI'ABLE BICYCLE.

(Application led Feb. 15, 1897.)

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UNITED STATI-:s

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM FREDERICK WILLIAMS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

SOCIABLE BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,231, dated November 29, 1898.

Application led February 15, 1897. Serial No, 623,431. (No model.)

To all whom it nto/y concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FREDERICK VILLIAMs, gentleman, of 32 Shaftesbury avenue, London, W., England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sociable Bicycles,of which the followin gis a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to the construction of sociable and tandem sociable bicycles, and has for its objects to support the doublycranked pedal shaft or shafts, the saddles, and steering-heads upon a single central main frame; to provide means of supporting the machine in the upright position when the riders or passengers are mounting or dismounting, or when the motion of the machine is so retarded as to render such support necessary; to provide improved means of adjusting the weight of the riders and load, so as to properly balance unequal weights, and to provide means of carrying passengers and parcels or other load.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation7 and Fig'. 2 a front elevation,of a sociable bicycle provided with my improvements, while Fig. 3 is a side elevation, and Fig. 4 a rear elevation, of a similar machine adapted for the conveyance of passengers. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views showing in plan and section the means of lateral adjustment for balancing the weight of the riders, passengers, or load.

vReferring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the mainframe of the machine is of the ordinary construction and that the doublycranked pedal-shaft A is mounted in bearings in the ordinary bottom bracket B and likewise in pillars O, carried by a laterallyextending tubular cross-bar D, attached to a central pillar E or downward extension of the bottom bracket B, the main frame which is of the ordinary diamond pattern'not being duplicated. l

The bicycle-support is represented as lowered into operative position and is formed by crank-arms F, terminating in rollers f and attached to the ends of a rock-shaft G, passing through the tubular cross-bar D and provided with a central crank-arm g, which is connected by a link h with a crank-arm o' or an eccentric worked by a hand-lever I, mounted on the top member of the main frame in an easily-accessible position and provided with a latch j for engagement with a notched quadrant J or other means of locking the support in whatever position it may be set. Normally the rollers f are retained in the position indicated by dotted lines; but by partially rotating the rock-shaft G the roller-carrying arms F are turned downward int-o the position shown in full lines to cause the rollers to bear upon the ground, as shown, so as to afford the lateral support necessary to maintain the machine in the upripht position when traveling very slowly or stationary. When thus lowered, the arms F are vertical and therefore in the most favorable position to sustain the weight with the least strain upon the parts, and as their rock-shaft G is journaled in the ends of the tubular cross-barD the strainis supported directly by this part of the frame. Similarly, before makinga sharp turn or under other circumstances which may possibly render lateral support necessary in order to guard against overturning the handlever I may be moved to and latched in an intermediate notch, such as 3'2, so as to bring the rollers f into an intermediate position, such as f2, in readiness to afford support should it be required.-

The saddles K for the two riders abreast are mounted upon the usual saddle-pins k,

, clamped in sockets L, fitted to slide upon a transverse supporting-bar M, iixed or litted upon the frame and preferably constructed of two tubes brazed together side by side and to a central socket L', fixed to the frame of the machine. For the purpose of adjusting the sockets L laterally they are coupled together by a rack-bar N, with which engages a pinion P, provided With a self -locking device, whereby any lateral shifting of the saddles by jarring will be prevented. By means of this adjustment the one saddle is moved toward and the other away from the central main frame, so that a balance may be obtained by a very slight adjustment. The pinionaxle is provided with a winged or a milled head and is capable of endwise movement under thestress of a spring O, Fig. 6, whereby ICO it is norlnally raised partly out of the plane of the rack-bar, so as to be caused to engage both with the rack-teeth and with teeth o in the cavity of the cap-plate, whereby it is held from turning, so that in order to adj ust the saddles in the lateral direction it is neccessary to first depress the pinion until it is disengaged from the locking-teeth o.

The head of the machine is provided with laterally-extending frames R, in whir-` mounted the spindles of steering-handles b', which may be independently adjustable as to height and one or both of which may be coupled by crank-arm s and link s/ with a crankarm s2 on the steering-fork spindle.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that in order to provide for the conveyance of passengers or non-working riders the construction would be somewhat similar to that of a tandem sociable, the rear pair of saddles and their supporting-bar being rereplaced by a basket-work or other light body forminga pair of seats of the Victoria type. This double-seated body T is represented in outline only by dot-and-dash lines and is carried by a light frame formed of a cranked bar U, supported at the middle upon the rear part of the main frame of the machine in place of and in a similar manner to the rear saddlesupporting bar, which it replaces, the said frame U being adjustable in the transverse direction, so as to enable the one seat to be moved away from and the other toward the central main frame in order to obtain a balance between rid ers of different weights. This lateral adjustment is efrected by the central part of the frame U being formed as or provided with a rack, with which gears a selflocking pinion I? of the same construction as shown in detail in Figs. 5 and G with reference to the adjustment of the saddles. It will be observed that the movable structure, consisting of the transversely-movable support and the saddles, frame, or receptacles carried thereby, is located partly on one side of the longitudinal plane of the machine and partly on the other side of such plane, so that when said structure is adjusted one portion of it moves toward said plane and the other portion moves away from said plane. The center of gravity is thus shifted much more quickly than if each portion were adjusted separately. The frame U may be supported and stayed, if necessary, by means of legs V, extending downward and forward, the platform portion being supported with capability of lateral sliding motion for the purpose of the above-mentioned adjustment by a transverse sliding rod or rods o, received in pillars IV, rising from the cross-bar D, or it may be supported in any other suitable way. The cross-bar D is similar to the bar D at the fore part of the machine above described. A supporter in all respects similar to that before described with reference to Figs. and 2 (and the parts of which are indicated by the same letters of reference) is also provided, so as to bring within reach of the occupants of the seats T means of maintaining the stability of the machine when required independently of the working riders-as, for instance, when one of the passengers is about to alight.

In order to enable both the front and rear supporters to be brought under the control of one and the same hand-lever I, the other hand-lever may be dispensed with and the .o rock-shafts G may be connected by a link X, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, connected to crank-arms on the two rockshafts, so that the latter will be moved in unison.

For the carriage of goods, parcels, or other dead load suitable receptacles would be provided in lieu of the seats, the said receptacles being carried by aframe provided with means of lateral adjustment for balancing substantially similar to that above described.

I claiml. A sociable bicycle having a single central main frame, a transverse saddle-supporting bar fixed thereon, and a pair of saddlesupports mounted to slide on said bar and coupled by a rack-bar so as to be moved together, in combination with a self -locking pinion for effecting the lateral adjustment of the saddles and retaining them in position substantially as specified.

2. In a sociable bicycle, the combination with the main frame, of an extension projecting downwardly from the bottom bracket of the frame, atubular cross-bar secured to the lower end of the extension, pillars one at each end of the tubular cross-bar, a doublycranked pedal-shaft mounted in the bottom bracket of the main frame and in the said pillars, a rock-shaft mounted in the tubular cross-bar and provided with crank-arms at its ends, rollers on the crank-arms, and means for operating the rock-shaft, substantially as described.

3. A sociable bicycle constructed with a single central main frame, a transverse laterally-adjustable frame supporting seats for passengers or receptacles for goodsand mounted to slide on said main frame, a rack-bar formed on the central portion of such frame, and a self-locking pinion for effecting the lateral adjustment of the seats or receptacles and retaining them in position, substantially as described.

l. In a sociable bicycle, the combination with the frame provided with a cross-bar, and seat-carrying sockets fitted to slide on the said cross-bar, of a rack-bar connecting the said sockets, a yieldingly-mounted pinion for operating the rack-bar, teeth in the cavity in which the pinion has movement and with which the teeth of the pinion normally engages, and a handle on the axle of the pinion, substantially as described.

WILLIAM FREDERICK WILLIAMS.

In presence of- T. W. KRNNARD, FRED C. HARRIS.

ICO

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